UNION Government has increased Import Duty on wheat from 30 per cent to 40 per cent. This will help farmers in the country as there is ample production of wheat this year, said Pratap Motwani, Secretary of The Wholesale Grain and Seeds Merchant Association. “It a decision taken at a proper time and will directly benefit farmers,” he said. Finance Ministry has taken out notification in this regard that the Import Duty has been increased to 40 per cent.

This year it there is record production of wheat. India is the second largest producer of wheat in the world. “As there is abundant production of wheat, the prices have reduced by 11 per cent. The MSP of wheat is Rs 1,840 per quintal this year and state governments give bonus to wheat producing farmers,” he said. The Import Duty has been increased on wheat to discourage imports from the foreign countries. This will give benefit to the farmers in the country.

The estimated production of wheat in the country is close to 9.91 crore tonne which is a record in itself. He said, on April 1, the stock of wheat with the Government was 1.7 crore tonne. Government has kept Rs 1,840 per quintal of MSP for wheat. It has set aside a target to purchase 3.57 crore tonne. Till April 22, Government agencies have purchased 55.17 lakh tonne of wheat.

Government had purchased 28.54 lakh tonne from Haryana, Madhya Pradesh- 18.89 lakh tonne, Punjab- 2.90 lakh tonne, Uttar Pradesh- 2.78 lakh tonne and Rajasthan 1.97 lakh tonne while the remaining are from other states. Traders have appreciated Government decision as it will benefit farmers to a larger extent, Motwani added.